Daily TribuneThe needle may move slowly at times, but it is moving. Every woman who gains confidence, access to opportunity, financial independence, or a seat at the table becomes part of that larger story.
WHEN women thrive, everyone thrives, too.
PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF ASEAN
Progress is measured not only by milestones achieved but by opportunities made accessible to more women every day.
As someone who has spent much of her life advocating for gender parity and women’s empowerment — both economic and social — I find myself reflecting on a journey that is now more than 26 years in the making. Those are years of conversations, collaborations, initiatives and countless small steps taken by women and men who believe that a more equitable world is possible.
As we celebrate another anniversary issue, I thought it fitting to share an advocacy that has only deepened for me through time.
Women’s issues have always been at the heart of the work we do — not only because women comprise half the world’s population, but because when women thrive, families, communities and nations thrive alongside them.
While programs on the ground matter greatly, some of the most lasting changes happen quietly through frameworks, legislation and institutional support that create opportunities for women to participate more fully in society.
In the Philippines, the year 2000 marked an important milestone with the implementation of the Gender and Development Policy. This encouraged government agencies to create programs and allocate resources that would address the needs of women and promote gender-responsive development.
Over the years, there have been challenges and criticism in how some of these funds have been utilized. Yet there have also been many success stories — local governments that have invested in women’s livelihood initiatives, healthcare, protection from violence and leadership development. These efforts remind us that when resources are directed with intention, meaningful change can happen.
Another important law enacted in 2000 was the Solo Parents’ Welfare Act of 2000, which provided benefits, services and workplace protections for solo parents, many of whom are women.
My own journey in this advocacy took another significant turn through our work with Great Women under ECHOstore and the ECHOsi Foundation. For nearly a decade, I served as the private sector representative for women within the Department of Trade and Industry’s Bureau of Small and Medium Enterprise Development (BSMED). It was a privilege to bring the voices of women entrepreneurs into conversations shaping programs and support systems for micro, small and medium enterprises.
Today, representation in BSMED continues through the Philippine Women’s Economic Network (PhilWEN), with organizations such as SPARK championing the interests of women micro-entrepreneurs. The work evolves, but the mission remains the same: creating pathways for women to participate more fully in economic life.
Beyond our shores, similar efforts have been unfolding across the Asean. Over the years, women leaders have worked tirelessly to take the woman agenda into the economic pillar of Asean Community policy creation. The other two pillars are Political-Security and Socio-Cultural (where the woman agenda is presently lodged in).
In 2016, when the Philippines hosted the Asean, women of the organization now called PhilWEN pushed to have a representative at the Asean Business Advisory Committee. And the result of that hosting was the Recommendations for the Full Implementation of the Action Agenda in Mainstreaming Women’s Economic Empowerment in Asean.
The Philippines is again hosting Asean this year, and the PhilWEN work supports the substantive policy push behind our government and private sector alignments.
Here’s an update where recommendations for Gender Parity have been adopted by Asean Leaders: Ageism: 2015 Kuala Lumpur Declaration on Aging; Gender Pay Gap: Asean Declaration on Gender Responsive Implementation of the Asean Community Vision (2025) and SDGs (2017); Gender Credit Gap: Asean Declaration on Building a More Sustainable, Inclusive Resilient Future specific to Unlocking Women’s Entrepreneurship (2022); Breast Cancer: Part of Asean Post-2015 Health Development Agenda; and Women’s AI Talent Moonshot (STEM to Workforce Gap): a 2025 Joint Statement on Skills Development endorsed by all Asean Leaders and Ministers aligned to Asean’s Digital Masterplan 2025.
Since then, important conversations have expanded to include issues that directly affect women’s ability to thrive. What is encouraging is that many of these concerns are no longer viewed as isolated women’s issues. They are increasingly recognized as essential building blocks for resilient economies and sustainable societies. The inclusion of women in leadership, entrepreneurship, innovation and emerging industries benefits everyone.
Much of this work continues quietly behind the scenes. It is a reminder that progress is rarely a dramatic leap. More often, it is the steady and persistent movement of many hands pushing together in the same direction.
The needle may move slowly at times, but it is moving. Every woman who gains confidence, access to opportunity, financial independence, or a seat at the table becomes part of that larger story.
And so, the work continues.
